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Glossary | 133
coastal
areas, involving intervention in the rearing process
to enhance production and the individual or corporate
ownership of the stock being cultivated. Aquaculture
practiced in a marine environment is called mariculture. Average Rate of Return Average rate of return takes the whole expenditure as given and calculates the rate of return to the global set of expenditures. It indicates whether or not the entire investment package was successful, but it does not indicate whether the allocation of resources between investment components was optimal. Biodiversity The variability among living organisms from all sources, including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; including diversity within species and gene diversity among species, between species and of ecosystems. Bioelectricity Electricity derived from the combustion of biomass, either directly or co-fired with fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Higher levels of conversion efficiency can be attained when biomass is gasified before combustion. Bioenergy (biomass energy) Bioenergy is comprised of bioelectricity, bioheat and biofuels. Such energy carriers can be produced from energy crops (e.g., sugar cane, maize, oil palm), natural vegetation (e.g., woods, grasses) and organic wastes and residues (e.g., from forestry and agriculture). Bioenergy refers also to the direct combustion of biomass, mostly for heating and cooking purposes. Biofuel Liquid fuels derived from biomass and predominantly used in transportation. The dominant biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel. Ethanol is produced by fermenting starch contained in plants such as sugar cane, sugar beet, maize, cassava, sweet sorghum or beetroot. Biodiesel is typically produced through a chemical process called transesterification, whereby oily biomass such as rapeseed, soybeans, palm oil, jatropha seeds, waste cooking oils or vegetable oils is combined with methanol to form methyl esters (sometimes called “fatty acid methyl ester” or FAME). Bioheat Heat produced from the combustion of biomass, mostly as industrial process heat and heating for buildings. Biological Control The use of living organisms as control agents for pests (arthropods, nematodes mammals, weeds and pathogens) in agriiculture. There are three types of biological control: Conservation biocontrol: The protection and encouragement of local natural enemy populations by crop and habitat management measures that enhance their survival, efficiency and growth. Augmentative biocontrol: The release of natural enemies into crops to suppress specific populations of pests over one or a few generations, often involving the mass production and regular release of natural enemies. Classical biocontrol: The local introduction of new species of natural enemies with the intention that they establish and build populations that suppress particular pests, often introduced alien pests to which they are specific. Biological Resources Include genetic resources, organisms or parts thereof, populations, or any other biotic component of ecosystems with actual or potential use or value for humanity. |
Biotechnology The IAASTD definition of biotechnology is
based on that in the Convention on Biological Diversity
and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. It is a broad
term embracing the manipulation of living organisms |
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